Portland Timbers player evaluations vs. New York Red Bulls

View full sizeTimbers forward Maximiliano Urruti started the 2014 season against Philadelphia rather slowly in terms of scoring, but he's now the hottest Timber in terms of putting the ball in the net. Urruti tallied his fourth and fifth goals of 2014 to lead the Timbers to their first 2014 road victory against the New York Red Bulls. The Timbers had never secured any points at Red Bulls Arena in their previous two visits until posting the win.Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

G Donovan Ricketts (90 minutes): 6. I can't fault Donovan for guessing wrong
on the penalty kick, and he was able to make several outstanding saves on the
game on some rather tricky shots. He
also got a little help from his defensive line as well, but otherwise, Donovan
was in the right place at the right time repeatedly for this match. If there
was an issue, it was in his distribution as he pushed a few goal kicks out of
play as well as rushing a throw or two trying to get rid of the ball.

View full sizeWith Michael Harrington still injured and Alvas Powell suspended, Timbers defender Jorge Villafana has become a focal point of the defensive line. The former midfielder for Chivas USA has settled in nicely after being pressed into duty against Columbus. His marking was much improved from the Crew match, and it was his overlapping run and cross that helped produce the game winning goal for Portland.Portland Timbers

D Jorge Villafana (90 minutes): 6. Villafana has settled in nicely on the
defensive line, having played most of his career with Chivas USA (his prior
stop to the Timbers) as a midfielder.
His footwork and marking was much improved from the Columbus match, but
he contributed to the winning goal with a wonderful overlapping run off a Nagbe
drop pass. His ability to cross and find
targets is pretty impressive, and I was pleased with his targeting to find the
space where Maximiliano Urruti could attack the ball for goal. With Alvas Powell officially out until the Vancouver
match and Michael Harrington's status day to day, Villafana needs to perform
and so far, he has.

D Pa Modou Kah (90 minutes): 5. I've spent a great deal of time watching
the replay of the first half penalty kick that was called upon Kah, and agree
that the penalty call was indeed fairly soft.
Kah indeed pushed the ball away with his left foot and Red Bulls
midfielder Lloyd Sam fell down rather easily upon the contact in hopes to draw
the call. However, Kah didn't help his
case by having his arm squarely on Sam's back plus his other arm in front of
him. I can understand the complaints
about the call, but Kah needs to avoid putting himself in rough spots like that
by having his arms in bad spots.

D Rauwshan McKenzie (79 minutes,
substituted by D Norberto Paparatto in 79th minute for tactics): 6. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from
McKenzie's first start of 2014, especially being thrown into a tough situation
on the road against a Red Bulls side with incredible talent up top. McKenzie was very good in the air, calm with
his headers and clearances, and really played well until tiring later in the
match. The only near unfortunate play
was a first half header he did on a cross in his own box that accidentally
played back to Donovan Ricketts, and the Timbers keeper had to make the save to
avoid the own goal.

View full sizeNothing like being throw into your first MLS action of the 2014 season against the New York Red Bulls and their cavalcade of offensive weaponry, but that was the task in front of Timbers center back Rauwshan McKenzie. Under the circumstances, he performed admirably, showing calmness, professionalism and headiness.Portland Timbers

D Jack Jewsbury (90 minutes): 7.5. Jack has indeed surfaced as the most
complete defender on the Timbers side lately, and his efforts against New York
didn't change that information one bit.
He was involved in several great overlapping runs, but I also liked his
smart play to drop back and help his defense when needed. He was also adept at being an outlet for the
offense or a threat moving forward, but what impressed me most was his speed to
move back to cover space or players as needed.
With the limited options at defensive back, the Timbers need Jack to
continue with these types of performances.

D Norberto Paparatto (11 minutes, brought
on for D Rauwshan McKenzie): 6. With
McKenzie tiring and Futty Danso having a few challenging matches in the past
few weeks, I wasn't immediately surprised when Porter called on the Argentinian
center back to sub. Paparatto also had
his struggles earlier in the season and hadn't appeared since April 5 for the
Timbers, but he made the play of the match late with a foot block then shoulder
bump on a flurry in the 84th minute to keep Portland up by one. I
can imagine this type of effort was exactly what he needed in order to regain
some confidence.

M Will Johnson (90 minutes): 7. Will's role has changed a lot with Diego
Chara out for injury, as he is tasked to deal with more of the destroyer role
to stop opposing threats on goal however possible. I saw lots of interactions between Will and
Thierry Henry, including one play where Johnson earned his second yellow card
of the season for a move that is usually reserved for the other brand of
football. We saw plenty of the feisty
Will with tackles and turnovers, and he just missed getting a goal off two
separate second half free kicks that caused some scares for the New York
defense. I'm sure he will be very happy
to get back his strike partner soon when Chara is back and healthy.

View full sizeAnother player that had a bit of a resurgence in his play for the Timbers was center back Norberto Paparatto. After not appearing in a match since April 5, he came in relief of Rauwshan McKenzie for the final 11 minutes. All he did was make a save with his left boot when goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was slow to react, then follow it up with a deflection clear out on a rebounded shot. The result could be the confidence boost he needs after sitting for so long on the bench.Portland Timbers

M Ben Zemanski (90 minutes): 6. Ben certainly has the physical presence
and ability to churn amongst the middle of the pitch, and he's not fearful at
all in mixing it up within the fray. He
also showed some great smarts to make very tactical fouls or bumps needed to
slow down the New York offense. He
almost got a rebound chance off Johnson's first free kick where the ball caromed
back to his space, but he couldn't get to it in time. Overall, Zemanski held up well but I'm sure
the Timbers will be happy to get Chara back and ready to go.

M Diego Valeri (89 minutes, substituted
by M Gaston Fernandez in 89th minute for tactics): 6. It appeared that New York was focused
upon keeping Valeri under wraps, and Valeri was relegated mostly to helping
create chances off turnovers or quick passes from the midfield. Valeri was part of the passing progression
that created Urruti's first goal of the game, but he was only able to generate
one shot for himself, a rushed effort in the 55th minute. While Valeri did pretty well, his work was a
bit more restrained and low key than in previous efforts.

M Gaston Fernandez (1 minute, brought on
for M Diego Valeri in 89th minute): 5. It's hard to do much when you enter the
match just before stoppage time, but that's the situation here for Gaston. He didn't do anything bad within his short
time, but he wasn't able to influence things positively either. His role simply was to help run down the
clock and hold the lead with either possessing the ball or trying to stop New
York, and he did aid in that process as much as he could.

View full sizeSteve Zakuani has settled in at forward for the Portland Timbers and so far, he's been able to showcase the blinding speed and tempo that he has available. While he has yet to score a goal of his own, he tallied his second assist of 2014 on Maximiliano Urruti's first goal to tie him with Darlington Nagbe for second on the team in overall assists.Portland Timbers

F Steve Zakuani (90 minutes): 6.5. Much
like the Columbus match, Steve was fairly active initially as an outlet for the
offense, and he had a few shots on goal early that were wide of frame or
blocked. As things progressed, his
ability to work out wide with his speed proved to be an asset when the Timbers
were able to move forward, and his drop pass to Urruti off a turnover just
before break was exactly what the Timbers needed to get a goal. It seemed like
nothing, but to give a scorer a chance to shoot, essentially anything can
happen and in this case, the chance created a score.

F Darlington Nagbe (90 minutes): 7. While Darlington spent another match not
getting a goal, he was very active in other facets of the offense. He executed a great drop pass for Valeri in
the 55th minute that was pushed over the bar, led Villafana on the
run that created the second goal, while being one of the conduits to assist in
the first goal. He was also responsible
for several tackles and time wasting moves late while the Timbers were holding
a lead, showing great composure and maturity.

F Maximiliano Urruti (84 minutes,
substituted by F Fanendo Adi in 84th minute for tactics): 8.5. Urruti has been on a scoring tear lately,
and he certainly showed great confidence and composure in netting the
brace. His first goal was simply putting
a shot on frame out of a broken play, and the deflection and movement was
enough to hit the goal. On goal two, the
composure was huge to play the Villafana cross back on frame towards the near
post in traffic. The fact he could keep
the ball down with all the distractions again shows how tuned in he was on the
ball, and the results show.

View full sizeWhile there has been a lot of recent talk about a lack of goals from forward Darlington Nagbe for the Timbers, I'm also pleased to notice his game taken on added maturity. Nagbe has made several exceptional tackles in key situations to protect his defense, while also making smart ball handling decisions like running towards the corner with the ball late in stoppage time against New York.Portland Timbers

F Fanendo Adi (7 minutes, brought on for
D Jorge Villafana in 83rd minute): 6. Much like Gaston, Fanendo came in late to
try and help the Timbers hold the lead.
Adi did provide some aid to head a ball clear during the 84th
minute flourish on goal to support his team, but otherwise, Adi really didn't
press forward with his team holding the lead.
You always want your forwards to provide support where they can, and Adi
certainly did that in his short time on the pitch.

Timbers Coaching Staff: 7. Porter was taking all week about the
need to rotate his lineup, and he did that by using several new faces on the
defensive side against New York. While
Villafana was expected to start, I have to admit that using McKenzie alongside
Kah was a bit of a surprise. However, the combination produced one of the more
composed and relatively mistake free outing for the defensive line. With the offense clicking, Porter has started
to sort out his defensive rotations and it produced a solid effort for the
match, especially in the second half where New York was held relatively in
check.

Overall grade for the Timbers: 7. Not a bad way to earn the first road
victory here, but it shows exactly how much Portland has progressed from the
season's first stages. The offense is now starting to produce goals and
movement, but the team has been able to match it with a much improved defense.
There is still work to do obviously, but I think this result certainly showed a
Timbers side that has started to turn a corner.
With several important matches coming up, this is a great time to show
improvement.